


Sunshine of Life

by LStar



Category: Code Geass
Genre: Angst, Child Abandonment, Child Abuse, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, It has a happy ending I swear, M/M, Mind Manipulation, Oneshot, Running Away, area 11? never heard of it, charles and marianne are not royalty, everything is p normal, geass whats that, nunnally is crippled but she isn't blind, they're just rich
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-11
Updated: 2019-10-11
Packaged: 2020-12-09 05:30:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20989640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LStar/pseuds/LStar
Summary: Lelouch grows tired of the abuse Charles and Marianne bestow upon him, and runs away with Nunnally. Not long after, they meet a boy, Suzaku Kururugi, and he takes them to a place he knows they'll be safe.





	Sunshine of Life

**Author's Note:**

> Idek fam I just came up with this on the spot.

"You utter piece of garbage!" Charles crowed as he threw Lelouch to the ground in fury. The vi Britannia family had just returned from a very important business party, with Lelouch donning a purple suit, and his younger sister Nunnally in a pink dress. Of course, she had a wheelchair, found and fixed up by Lelouch himself, as his parents refused to get her one. Why would they? They were the ones who crippled her in the first place just barely a year ago. Nunnally had mentioned wanting to play piano, but her parents refused to get her a tutor, but Lelouch went out of his way to learn piano and teach her in secret, which their parents soon found out about. In their fit of rage, they severely injured Lelouch, giving him multiple scars, and crippled Nunnally.

In their parents eyes, they deserved it.

Back to the matter at hand, Lelouch had shown up one of the nobles sons at chess, and the nobles son didn't take it lightly, making a huge scene, yelling Lelouch cheated, and once Marianne gave a brief scolding to Lelouch, the adults turned their backs on the teens. The nobles son wasn't very happy with the outcome, so he threw himself against the table and howled, crying that Lelouch had hurt him.

As consequence, Lelouch and his family were kicked out.

"How dare you embarrass us like that!" Charles landed a kick to Lelouch's already bony side, causing him to cry out and gasp. He continued his ruthless attacks.

"Daddy! Stop it!" Nunnally cried from her spot, "you'll kill him!"

"Shut up, Nunnally," Marianne scolded, grabbing Nunnally's frail arm, "you're in trouble too!" she yanked her up, practically dragging her away. Lelouch's violet eyes snapped open in horror. "No! Leave her alone! She had nothing to do with this!" out of everyone in the family, Nunnally was the only person who Lelouch loved. And he vowed to protect her.

"Lelouch!" Nunnally cried as Marianne slammed open of the hallway closet doors and threw her in. "Neither of you are getting dinner tonight!" Marianne spat, turning to furious gaze on to the youngest. "I'll let the closet monsters deal with you!" and with that, she slammed the door and locked it, ignoring Nunnally's pleas and cries.

Meanwhile, Lelouch just watched, biting his tongue. "Let her out!" he shouted.

"Shut the fuck up!" Charles snapped, punching the overtly skinny boy. He pinned him down, his eyes cold. "You ruined so much in one night Lelouch, you need to feel the pain that our bank is going to feel!"

Shortly after, all Nunnally could hear were her brother's agonized screams, and begs for Charles to stop.

~

Sometime around one in the morning, Lelouch woke up, his body was haphazardly tossed into his own room, his clothes strung around him. He sat up, pain shooting up his lower regions. He felt like he was being torn apart still. Slowly, he got to his feet, forcing himself to stumble to the bathroom. He attempted to turn the water on, to no success. Charles must have had their water shut off when he passed out.

Dammit all. 

Lelouch stumbled back to his room, and made a decision right then and there. He got dressed, and shoved some clothes in a duffel bag he used whenever they went on a business trip to another country. After packing his things, he packed Nunnally's things in the same bag. He was going to have to carry Nunnally, after all, so using one duffel bag would be the best idea.

Quietly, he snuck out of his room and fled into the hallway where Nunnally was. He unlocked the closet and opened the door, wincing when it creaked. Nunnally, who was curled in a fetal position, jumped, her eyes snapping open in panic. Upon seeing it was just Lelouch, she relaxed, a concerned looking crossing her eyes when she noticed all the new bruises littering her brother's face, as well as the blood dripping from his lips. "Lel-"

Lelouch put a finger to his lips and leaned over, slowly picking her up. He grunted, but stepped away, gently closing the door and hurrying as fast as he could down the hall, to one of the windows. He tossed the duffel bag out onto the grass first, then gently lowered Nunnally down. Once she was safely out, he climbed out, closing the window behind him, and knelt down. "Get on my back, Nunnally," he whispered as he grabbed the duffel bag.

Nunnally moved to cling to him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Lelouch stood, another wave of pain passed through him, namely his ass. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to walk.

He had no idea how long he'd been walking for, but it must have been quite awhile, as their neighborhood wasn't even visible anymore. As he passed by an alley, he tripped over something, a crack on the sidewalk, most likely, and collapsed, thankfully, Nunnally didn't fling off of him, so she didn't get hurt.

"Lelouch!" Nunnally sounded panicked.

"I can't..." Lelouch muttered, in too much pain. "Sorry...just...give me a...moment..." his eyes closed, the last thing he could hear was Nunnally's cries to wake up.

~

"You can't leave me! Wake up! Please! Open your eyes!" Nunnally begged, tears streaming down her face. Logically, she knew Lelouch had simply passed out, but he was seriously injured and obviously exhausted. "Please, big brother! Please!" just when Nunnally thought it couldn't get any worse, it started to drizzle, slowly picking up to rain. She sobbed. What could she possibly do? She couldn't move Lelouch and her to a dry spot. They were trapped on the concrete, with no one around.

Until she heard a growl.

Terrified, Nunnally clutched onto Lelouch's now wet white shirt. "Lelouch..." she whimpered. From the shadows of the alley, a dog stepped forward, growling, snarling, eyeing her. Nunnally made a terrified noise from the back of her throat, then threw herself ontop of Lelouch, hugging his head. Lelouch did his best to help her, and collapsed from exhaustion. If protecting Lelouch meant she would get shredded to pieces then...so be it.

The dog lunged, and its teeth sunk into her arm, way too close to Lelouch's head for comfort. Nunnally cried out, tears filling her eyes. Before it could do anything else, it was whacked off of her.

Nunnally gasped as her savior stood above her, back to her. "Run," it was a boy, probably around Lelouch's age.

"I can't," Nunnally said, her voice trembling.

"What do you mean, you _can't_?"

"I- I'm paralyzed from the waist down. My big brother rescued me, and...and...oh god, please help us!" Nunnally started sobbing, moving to bury her face in Lelouch's black hair. It was quiet for a moment before the growling returned.

"...Okay. Just sit tight."

Nunnally didn't look up. She could hear whacks, grunts, and at one point a pained yell, before she heard the dog whimper and run off.

The boy's steps became more audible, and she looked up. He had brown hair, and green eyes. He smiled gently at the girl. His pant leg was torn, and a bite mark evident, bleeding from his leg. Nunnally sat up, scooting over. "Y-you're hurt," she said guiltily.

"I'll be fine. Let's get you both somewhere safe. I was just out delivering something to the post office, I was already on the way home."

"But...my brother, he..."

"I can carry you both, it'll be fine," the boy turned, kneeling. "Hop on."

Nunnally hesitated, then moved to wrap her arms around his neck, and he maneuvered her into a more firm position, before turning to Lelouch. He lifted him from under the arms and stood slowly, bringing him up with him. Once the two were standing, all of Lelouch supported by the boy, he moved to pick him up bridal style. "Still holding on?" he questioned Nunnally, who gave a quiet _yes._

"Alright, let's go," there was a very slight strain in his voice, and he began walking.

After several minutes of silence, the boy spoke up. "So, what's your name?"

"Eh? Oh, it's...it's Nunnally. Nunnally vi Britannia."

"Seriously? You're a vi Britannia? They're the richest family in the country!" the boy sounded baffled, "why are you here?"

Nunnally lowered her head. "Because dad and mom hurt us. They hurt me and they hurt big brother. Earlier, Lelouch was framed for something he didn't do and mom locked me in a closet and...I don't know what happened, but I heard Lelouch screaming and crying. I've...I've never heard him sound so pained. It was awful," she hiccuped.

"So even rich people go through hell sometimes," the boy muttered, and Nunnally assumed she wasn't meant to hear that, so she ignored it.

"U-um...what about you? What's your name?"

"Ah, forgive me. I'm Suzaku. Suzaku Kururugi."

"Su...zaku...you're Japanese?"

"Yes, I am," Suzaku said stiffly, "why? Do you suddenly not feel safe, like the rest of the damn Britannians who-"

"No! I mean, I do feel safe, I mean no that you got it all wrong! I'm not like my parents...neither is Lelouch..."

Suzaku didn't say anything after that, but he relaxed slightly, which was enough for Nunnally.

~

When Lelouch woke up, he was in bed. For a panicked moment, he thought Charles had found them and brought them back home. No, no, no, he couldn't do it. He couldn't stand the pain any longer..! He jolted upright, much too quickly, as his head began to pound and his ass started hurting. He let out a cry of pain, moving to clutch his head. There was shifting and suddenly, someone was beside him, gently gripping his wrists. "Hey, hey, calm down, you're fine, you're safe," an unfamiliar voice said.

Lelouch trembled, yanking away from the stranger and moving to glance up at whoever grabbed him.

It was a very attractive boy, around his age from the looks of it. "You're safe," the boy repeated.

"What happened? Where's Nunnally? Where the hell is my sister?!" Lelouch demanded, moving to get up, ignoring the flare of pain that shot through his entire body. The boy firmly sat him back down. "Your sister is fine. She's enjoying dinner right now."

"D-dinner? But it's...too late for dinner..." Lelouch said feebly.

The boy shook his head. "No. It's only seven. You've been asleep all day," he said.

"All...day..?"

"I found you and your sister last night...I wanna say around two in the morning? I was out when I wasn't supposed to, delivering something, and you were unconscious, while your sister was attacked by a dog-"

"What?!" Lelouch got up quickly, shoving the boy out of the way. The boy stumbled and fell, more so out of surprise than Lelouch's actual strength. Lelouch didn't bother to apologize, he just bolted out of the room, looking around the hallways frantically before choosing a direction and running. Eventually, he found a stairwell and ran down it, stumbling and falling down the last few steps. He was already out of breath, but Nunnally...was she okay? She was attacked while he slept goddammit he had to make sure she was fine! He ran down the hall where he heard chatter and slammed open the door. "Nunnally!"

The occupants in the room jumped, except a maid woman, who simply looked up.

"Lelouch!" Nunnally smiled from her spot in the chair, "oh thank goodness! I was so worried about you!"

"Nevermind that, are you hurt?" he hurried over, panting, his vision beginning to blur slightly. He noticed the bandages wrapped around her arm and grasped it, shaking, "Nunnally...I'm so sorry..."

"Don't be, you helped me enough," Nunnally said gently.

The boy Lelouch had been with appeared at the doorway, his gaze instantly landing on the two siblings.

Everyone was looking at them.

"Nunnally...I..." Lelouch murmured, looking up at her. A concerned look passed onto Nunnally's face. "Lelouch? What-"

The ground rushed up to meet Lelouch pretty quickly.

~

"Lelouch!" Nunnally panicked.

"He's fine," Suzaku said, walking over, lifting him up. "He just overexerted himself too quickly. He hadn't been up any longer than five minutes. I'll take him back to bed. Now that he knows you're okay," he smiled thinly. Nunnally nodded, looking guilty.

"Hey," the redhead known as Shirley leaned over, her hand resting on her shoulder, "he'll be fine."

"I know but...he slept so much..."

"From what Suzaku told me, he suffered greatly before you two left, rest is precisely what he needs right now," Sayoko said.

Nunnally looked down at her food. "...Okay."

~

When Lelouch woke up again, his headache seemed to have gotten worse. He groaned and turned to his side, curling up. He did a double take when he saw that brown haired guy sitting at his desk, his head rested in his arms, asleep.

So...Lelouch took his bed?

He sat up, slowly this time, and winced. He tried to get out of bed, but his legs gave out almost immediately. He fell to the ground. This woke the boy up, jumping alert. His green gaze landed on Lelouch and he sighed, getting up and walking over. "You okay?"

"Just fine," Lelouch muttered. The boy helped him to the bed.

"I know you're probably confused, but let me explain. My name is Suzaku Kururugi. Like I said earlier, I found you and your sister on my way home. I brought you guys here and-"

"Where exactly is 'here'?" Lelouch cut in.

Suzaku bit his lip. "Well...Milly calls it a safe house for those with bad families, but..." he shook his head, "it's the Ashford's second home, basically, not too far from Ashford Academy, she let's whoever needs to rest up for either the night, or in our case, to stay. We have two guest bedrooms, for people who plan on staying only the night, and the rest of the bedrooms are shared among the ones who live here."

"So...we..?"

"We're the only two boys who live here, so we'll be sharing a room," Suzaku chuckled, "I did have a roommate for afew weeks, Rivalz, because he was going through a bad argument with his family about his gambling addictions. Milly ended up convincing him to make up with them though, so he only occasionally comes by. Usually just on the weekends, to hang out with us."

"Ah...so...who shares with Nunnally..?"

"A girl named Nina Einstein. Her parents kicked her out once they found out she was a bisexual."

"Oh..."

"Don't worry. She's really...nice. Timid. She's not too fond of me though."

"Why not?" Lelouch looked confused. Suzaku seemed nice.

Suzaku's smile tightened. "It's because I'm Japanese."

Lelouch stared at him. "So? Who cares? Not everyone is the same as what stereotypes say. I don't care about money, and I do care about my sister. I'm not heartless or selfish," he paused then laughed abit, "no, I take it back. I'm pretty selfish."

"I don't think you are. You rescued your sister from your home, and carried her far away, you overexerted yourself to make sure she was okay, disregarding your own injuries. I'd say you earned a spot of being at least a little selfless," Suzaku's tight smile became soft again.

"...Thanks," Lelouch smiled.

"So...time to get a little more serious here. Before you passed out by that alley, what do you remember?" Suzaku looked oddly serious, and a little nervous. Lelouch pursed his lips. "I remember packing bags. Getting Nunnally out."

"And before that? Anything with...Charles? Do you remember what he did to you?"

Lelouch's eyes narrowed. "You speak as though _you_ know what happened," he accused. Suzaku's face looked much more uncomfortable.

"I...yeah. I do. I mean, I'm very certain I do. I was the one who changed you. I didn't want you to get hypothermia, and Nunnally suggested it be me, as she said you were uncomfortable with women undressing you..?"

"Yeah. So? What do _you_ think happened?" Lelouch held back a sneer.

Suzaku sighed. "Come on, Lelouch, don't make me say it. I saw the wounds- I saw the bruises inside your thighs, the blood dripping from your...rectum," Suzaku chose his words carefully, "I also patched up all of your other wounds."

Lelouch reached up, now noticing the bandages wrapped around his head, and the bandaids on his face, and noting his ribs were taped. "Ah..."

"Lelouch," Suzaku looked like he was fighting tears, "I promise you and Nunnally will be safe here. I won't let anything happen to either of you. We can give you both a new last name, to hide you from your parents."

Lelouch stared at him, moving to awkwardly hug him, then pulled back. Suzaku, knowing what Lelouch nearly did, leaned over and brought him in his arms. Lelouch cleared his throat. "Lamperouge."

"What..?"

"I am no longer Lelouch vi Britannia. I will go by the alias Lelouch Lamperouge."

Suzaku didn't reply. He couldn't- as Lelouch's stomach growled, rather loudly. Suzaku let out a small chuckle and pulled away. "Come on, Sayoko is making breakfast, everyone else should be awake by now."

So, the two males headed down, and sure enough, everyone was at the dining room table.

"Good morning sleeping beauty, glad you decided to join the land of the living," the blonde girl with shoulder length hair said in an oddly smug tone. Suzaku glanced at Lelouch. "That's Milly Ashford. She comes here everyday after school to hang with us and spends the weekends here," he moved to point to the long haired redhead. "That's Shirley Fennette. She lives here, and she rooms with Milly, when she's here. That's Nina, the one who rooms with Nunnally. That's Kallen Kouzuki, she rooms with Chizuru," he pointed at the green haired girl.

"C.C," Chizuru corrected.

"Right...sorry," Suzaku said.

"C.C?" Lelouch repeated.

C.C sipped her apple juice. "I refuse to go by Chizuru. Chizuru Chikamoto is dead. She died when my parents sold me to that man. I refuse to be called what those bastards called me," she said, mostly nonchalantly, but there was a note of bitterness in her tone.

Lelouch swallowed a heavy lump in his throat. 

"Are we telling the new kids what happened to us? I don't mind sharing," Shirley said, then turned to Lelouch and Nunnally. "It's nice to meet you! I live here because my dad died in the military a couple years back, and my mom committed suicide afterwards!" she said.

"You don't seem very upset about it," Lelouch pointed out.

Shirley shrugged. "I barely knew my father, and my mother ignored me most of the time, so it didn't feel like a huge loss."

Kallen sulked. "I'm not saying a word."

"You don't have to, it's okay," Nunnally smiled at her.

Kallen's jaw tightened. "...It was just me and my mom, okay? She was sent to a psych ward. So now I'm here."

Neither vi Britannia's, or as they're now to be called, Lamperouge's, commented.

Nina fiddled with her thumbs. "My parents thought it was gross that I was bisexual, so they k-kicked me out."

So Suzaku was telling the truth about her. She looked the most upset out of everyone, so he gave her a smile. "Hey, if it makes you feel any better, I'm gay." This made Nina jerk in surprise, looking up at him. Milly whistled. "Oho? So you're gay, and you slept in Suzaku's bed?" she winked.

Suzaku's face turned red as Lelouch stammered. "Milly! It isn't like that! I slept on my desk!"

"Isn't like that? Suzaku, are you-"

"Bisexual!" Milly sang, "but there's no shame in that! After all, I'm pansexual! Kallen is straighter than a pole, Shirley here is a precious lesbian-"

"I'm heteroflexible, prez!"

Milly ignored her, "and C.C is asexual."

"When did we get to talking about sexuality?" C.C asked dryly.

"When these two gays decided to come out and tell us they're dating!" Milly grinned.

Lelouch felt his face get hot. "We're not dating!" both he and Suzaku protested. Much to Lelouch's chagrin, Nunnally giggled. "I don't know, brother, you're looking awfully red there."

"Nunnally!" Lelouch cried, dismayed.

"What about you, Nunnally? Any ideas what you are?" Milly asked, her face softening slightly.

Nunnally thought for a moment. "No...not really. I mean...I might be a lesbian? But I haven't really figured it out yet."

"We're here to support you all the way, so no matter what, don't be afraid to ask us!" Milly gave her a thumbs up. Nunnally nodded gratefully.

Breakfast went by pretty smoothly.

~

Later on, everyone was playing games in one of the large rooms. A boy with blue hair had come by, introducing himself as Rivalz, and currently, he and Lelouch were playing a gambling game.

"I'm on the pathway to victory, Lelouch! I am a professional gambler!" Rivalz looked proud as he made his move.

Lelouch studied the board for a solid eight seconds before moving one spot. "And that is Checkmate."

"Wha?!" Rivalz did a double take, eyeing the board in shock.

Nunnally giggled. "No one can beat brother at gambling. Or chess."

"Oh really? Well as it turns out, Nina is a Chess Pro," Milly grabbed Nina and shoved her forward, "I'm sure she'd love to play!"

Nina stammered, her face turning red. Lelouch offered a smile. "Sure. I'd love to." At this, Milly whooped and hurried to get the chess board. Lelouch set up the black pieces, while Nina set the white pieces up. Everyone watched the game intently as Lelouch easily beat Nina. Twice.

"We have a new Chess Champion!" Shirley cheered.

"Good game, you lasted longer than any of my previous opponents," Lelouch offered a hand, which Nina meekly accepted.

"Hey Lelouch, are you good at Dance Dance Revolution?" Suzaku asked eagerly.

"Are you kidding? I can barely run for twenty seconds," Lelouch laughed lightly.

"I'll play you!" Milly enthused. Suzaku's shoulders drooped slightly but he smiled anyway. Milly's eyes twinkled in mischief. Shirley sighed, and C.C looked away, a slight smirk on her face. The two walked to the TV and after setting it up, they began to play. After two songs, Milly jumped to her left, knocking into Suzaku, who stumbled and fell- right into Lelouch, who _tried _to catch him, but was both too weak and too caught off guard. The boys crashed to the ground.

"Whoops~" Milly giggled. Shirley shook her head and C.C looked mildly amused. Nina looked horrified, Rivalz looked awed, and Nunnally had a huge smile on her face, her hand covering her mouth.

Suzaku was on top of Lelouch, one leg between both of Lelouch's. Lelouch seemed to stammer, and Suzaku leaped back. "Milly!" he hissed. Milly giggled and waved him off. "Oh lighten up, Suzaku, it was an accident."

"Accident, my ass," Suzaku huffed.

This caused Nunnally to start giggling. Which lead to Milly laughing, and soon everyone else joined in, except Lelouch and Suzaku, both still looking extremely embarrassed.

~

Lelouch and Nunnally have been living with the Ashford's for a week, and the rooming arrangements were successfully made. Milly brought in a futon for Lelouch, which Suzaku volunteered to sleep on, while Lelouch took the bed. Currently, everyone was lounging in the living room, the TV switched on to some tv show. Nunnally sat on the big comfy chair, while Milly, Nina, Kallen and Shirley sat on the couch. C.C sat on the arm of the couch, and Rivalz, Suzaku and Lelouch sat on the ground. Lelouch stared at the TV, not really watching it, until the station was suddenly changed.

_"We interrupt this program for a special news service. Charles zi Britannia and his wife Marianne have reported their children Lelouch vi Britannia and Nunnally vi Britannia missing, and has claimed they'd been missing for a week now, and claim their children have passed on. I'm here live with Marianne vi Britannia. Miss Marianne, how are you doing right now?"_

_"I'm doing simply awful! I can't believe our beloved children ran away! They have to be dead! They'd never do this and couldn't possibly be alive," Marianne sobbed._

_"We are deeply sorry for your loss," the reported said sympathetically, "when will the funerals take place?"_

_"This weekend, at the White Knight chapel, at three o clock sharp," Marianne sniffed._

Lelouch turned the TV off in anger. "Are you serious?" he seethed, standing up and storming off to his and Suzaku's room in anger. Suzaku quickly followed him. "Lelouch!"

Lelouch paced around the room, biting his thumb. "I can't do this anymore, Suzaku," he said once Suzaku closed the door, his voice thick with emotion. Suzaku took a hesitant step forward. "Can't...do...what, anymore, Lelouch?" he asked slowly.

Lelouch buried his face in his hands and let out a heart wrenching sob. "This! I can't do any of this anymore! Everyone here has given me a happiness I never thought I'd have, a happiness someone like me doesn't deserve! I only knew pain, and relief growing up, relief because Nunnally was with me every step of the way! She doesn't know this, but she's the only reason why I'm even alive, Suzaku!" tears began to stream down Lelouch's face, "ever since I was little, I've felt like nothing but a burden to my family, I was always being hurt and stepped on and used for entertainment! It didn't matter what I did, I would never be taken seriously, and then I'd get hurt for pulling any sort of stunt. He's hurt me in so many ways, Suzaku, and mother just sat back and ignored it. He's held cigars to me, he's given me burns and cuts that will never heal, and all I could do was just let it happen, because they made me feel so insignificant that I didn't deserve to even try to fight back. I grew up hating myself, Suzaku, but when Nunnally was born, I had to pretend like I was okay, I've held it in for so long, Suzaku, I can't, I can't, I can't do it anymore! I can't be strong forever! I'm weak, and everyone knows it! My parents were right, I shouldn't have ever been born, I should have killed myself long ago! I- I-"

"Lelouch! Breathe!" Suzaku gripped Lelouch's shoulders, his green eyes wide. He had no idea how deep the trauma reigned in Lelouch, who's knees buckled and, if it wasn't for Suzaku steadying him, he would have collapsed. Lelouch let out a sob, and, not knowing what else to do, Suzaku brought him in for a hug. Lelouch subconsciously clung to him, letting out all of the emotions he's held back and bottled up over the years.

Once Lelouch began calming down after several minutes, Suzaku began to speak. "Hey, Lelouch?"

"Mm?"

"Have I told you why I was here?"

"...No."

Suzaku ran his fingers through Lelouch's hair. "When I was little, my mother died giving birth to me. And because of that, my father went from a respected military man, to an alcoholic drug addict. He hated me, he always threw his empty beer bottles at me. Sometimes he'd throw them when they still had alcohol in them, which usually drenched me. He was in and out of prison, and I was sent to my aunt's whenever he _was_ in prison. One day, when I was fifteen, he came home from prison, and he seemed to have truly changed. He was kind to me, and even stayed for dinner with us. At one point, he asked me how school was going. I admitted it wasn't going so well, since I wasn't very good with schoolwork- I'm still pretty bad at it, actually. I was more athletically inclined. That was the turning point. He started yelling about how I was ungrateful for everything, and he stabbed me."

"He what?" Lelouch was horrified.

Suzaku pulled away and lifted his shirt, showing off a good sized scar. "He stabbed me," Suzaku repeated. I remember falling down, and my aunt screaming. He slit her throat, right in front of me. He started throwing things at me. If it wasn't for my aunt's neighbors, I doubt I'd still be alive." Suzaku fell silent for a moment, "and...when he went to trial, I was called as a witness. I explained everything. From my mom's death, to his alcoholic behavior, and even mentioned his prison records. He was charged with assault, child abuse, child neglect, one count for property damage, one count of first degree murder, one count of attempted murder and one for resisting arrest. He was sentenced to death."

"Oh..."

"Yeah, oh. They invited me to watch his execution. I don't know what I was thinking at the time, but I went. He was sent to be hung. I watched as he had a rope tied to his neck, and his gaze met mine. He stared me right in the face, no hint of remorse in his eyes. And then, he...smirked. Like he knew something would happen. It wasn't just any smirk- it was pure evil, and seconds later, he was hung. I watched him die slowly. I didn't feel satisfaction like I thought I would. I felt empty and scared. That was when I met Milly, who offered me to stay here. I've been here ever since."

"Suzaku..."

"This was barely three years ago, Lelouch," Suzaku laughed dryly, "three years, and I'm still not over it. Every now and then, I get mail from an old social worker, who just likes to check up on me. We write from time to time."

"Is that what you were doing on the night you found Nunnally and me?"

Suzaku nodded.

"I-"

"Lelouch, when my father died, I decided I would do everything in my power to protect the people I care for, so no one could end up like me," he sucked in a breath, "and that does include you and Nunnally."

"...Thank you, Suzaku. I promise I'll...try to be there for you, too."

Suzaku simply smiled, and the two stayed in the room for the rest of the day.

~

On Saturday, the teens decided to go to Lelouch and Nunnally's funeral- in disguise of course. Nunnally stayed behind with Sayoko, who was planning on teaching her origami.

Lelouch wore a black hoodie, with a black mask hiding the lower half of his face, while everyone else wore slightly more formal black clothing. Suzaku wore a black shirt and coat, and pants.

Shirley wore a black dress reaching her ankles, and a black coat.

Milly wore a black dress reaching her knees, hair hair pulled back.

Nina and Kallen wore a black suit.

Rivalz wore something similar to Nina, without the tie.

And C.C wore a black dress with no sleeves.

The two hung around the back while the services were attended by afew large, rich families, all dressed up in black, but they all wore lavish jewelry and had their hair done in a fancy way. Lelouch snarled under his breath when he caught side of the nobles son, the one who caused him to get...

"Lelouch? Do you know any of these people?" Suzaku whispered.

"Did someone say Lelouch?" a woman not too far from them looked around. Seeing as no one spoke up, she shrugged and went back to her phone. Lelouch sighed and leaned in close to Suzaku. "Call me L.L here, it'll be easier." From the other side of him, C.C snorted. Lelouch ignored her and continued to whisper. "And, not really. I mean, I've met them, but I never spoke to them outside of introductions." His jaw tightened when he saw the nobles son turn to face him, a strange look in his eyes. Then his gaze flitted over to Suzaku and the others, and shook his head, an amused look on his face, before he turned back.

"Do you think he knows?" C.C asked.

"No. He's much too stupid to have figured it out. He saw me with you guys and saw I didn't have Nunnally, so he would assume that I was just some wannabe fan," Lelouch replied lowly.

"You talk as though you know him," Shirley pointed out.

"I do," Lelouch's jaw clenched, "he's the one who pushed Charles over the edge. Caused me to...to get..." blie rose in his throat as tears started falling down his face. Suzaku gripped his shoulders. "Easy, L.L, breathe," he said quietly, rubbing his back. Lelouch flinched away from his touch and stumbled back.

"Is there something wrong, boys?" Marianne questioned as she walked over to them. Lelouch quickly closed his eyes. This is it, he's going to get caught, he's going to be dragged home, but at least Nunnally was safe-

"_Lamperouge-san, you have to pull it together,_" Suzaku said. He spoke in Japanese. Lelouch had done his fair share of studying Japanese, much to his parents chagrin. He didn't learn to much, so all he could do was straighten up, eyes still closed, and sigh, forcing his voice to sound abit deeper. "_Sorry,_" he replied in Japanese.

Lelouch could only imagine the look of disgust on Marianne's face. "I see. You Japanese better stay out of trouble, or else I'll have security shoot you," and with that, she huffed away. Lelouch slowly opened his eyes, turning to Suzaku, guiltily noting the tight resignation on his friend's face. "Suzaku, I'm sorry."

Suzaku's eyes widened and he turned to Lelouch. "No, don't be, I'm just glad nothing happened."

"I gotta say, L.L, I didn't know you knew Japanese," Milly piped up.

"I don't. Not really. I know a little though," Lelouch replied.

Before they could say anymore, the funeral started. If it wasn't for the news reporters, Lelouch doubted it would have been sad. There was no video, no music, just Charles talking out of his ass as he looked at the portrait of Lelouch and Nunnally respectively. "They were my only children, I could never bare to see them harmed, no matter how rambunctious they could be. When Nunnally got into her tragic accident years ago, I wallowed every night for a year."

_What a load of bullshit._

"We just want to ask our children why they ran away," Marianne sobbed, playing up the drama, "and if I could I would bring them into my arms one last time."

If Lelouch could, he would go forward, remove his hood and mask, and reveal the entire truth. Charles and Marianne would get arrested. And ideally, they would, but he knew they could easily bail out of prison, and once they'd do that, they'd hire a hitman on not only himself, but on Nunnally too, and possibly the rest of his friends for being accomplices. This wasn't some anime where everything would turn out okay- it was the harsh and bitter reality.

Once the news reporters left at the end of the services, Charles shook his head. "Shall we be off for a dinner party, then?" he asked the audience, who all cheered.

Tears burned Lelouch's eyes. Disgusting.

"Come on, let's go home," Milly said quietly, looking oddly somber. All of them did, as if they couldn't believe what they just saw.

So, they all left to go back home.

~

When they got home, it was already time for dinner, and Nunnally was in the dining room. She looked up and beamed. "Welcome back, brother! Look! Sayoko taught me how to make paper birds, so I made one for all of you to bring everlasting happiness!" she smiled sweetly.

Lelouch removed the mask and hood, approaching Nunnally. "They're beautiful, thank you," he gave her a hug, which she gladly returned.

"I made a salmon and spinach casserole tonight, it is just about ready," Sayoko informed Milly. 

Lelouch stood up. "I'm actually going to bed now. I'm not very hungry," he said, and left the dining room. Everyone stared after him. Nunnally looked worried. "What happened?" she asked. Kallen sighed. "The funeral was just...not good. It upset him. All of us."

"Oh..."

"I'll go check on him," Suzaku volunteered and hurried after him.

Once in the room, he noticed Lelouch had already tossed his hoodie aside and put on sweats, curled up in a ball on the bed. Suzaku walked over to him. "Lelouch?"

No answer. No movement, really. If it weren't for Lelouch's breathing, he would have assumed he somehow did something. Sighing, Suzaku simply left the room, to leave him to his thoughts, and to rest.

-

_"Mama! Papa! Look! I drew this for you!" Lelouch, age four, said happily. He was going to be five soon, and Marianne was pregnant with Nunnally. They glanced at the family portrait he drew- it was beautiful for a child his age. But Marianne and Charles didn't think so. "Lelouch, go throw that away, it's hideous," she huffed._

_"What? But mama I worked so hard on it..." Lelouch's lower lip trembled._

_"Listen to your mother, Lelouch," Charles growled._

_"But..."_

_The next thing Lelouch knew, his father was hitting him, shoving him down, punching him, hurting him. Lelouch screamed. "No! Papa stop! I'm sorry! Stop!" slowly, Charles morphed into his older self, and his hands were doing more than punching. Lelouch screamed._

_"Lelouch!"_

_"Stop!"_

_"Lelouch, wake up!"_

_"Please, I didn't do anything!"_

_"LELOUCH!"_

_-_

Lelouch jolted upright with a cry, his eyes wide and he was hyperventilating. "Lelouch, listen to me, you're okay, you're safe now, nothing is going to happen to you," Suzaku said, his hands lifted up in a form of surrender. Lelouch struggled to listen to his voice, almost flinching when Suzaku got closer. "I'm going to hug you now..." he said slowly, "I want you to listen to my heartbeat."

Lelouch could barely nod.

Suzaku slowly embraced him.

"You're okay...you're safe."

Lelouch calmed down slowly, and eventually, he fell back asleep, relaxed, and feeling safer in Suzaku's arms. He didn't know that he absolutely refused to let go of Suzaku, which caused the Japanese boy to lay down next to him.

~

Six months have passed since Suzaku had found Lelouch and Nunnally, and the two had been fully accepted with open arms into the little family. They did everything together, and Rivalz took Lelouch gambling every so often and the two split the money rewards. 

Nunnally confirmed she was positive she was a lesbian, which Milly suggested they make a cake in the shape of boobs, which earned her a smack to the back of the head by Shirley, and pointed out Nunnally was only thirteen.

They did, however, have a birthday party for Lelouch, who recently turned eighteen, the same age as Suzaku, who Lelouch, by now, was positive he was in love with. Maybe six months was still too soon to tell, but Lelouch couldn't see a future without him. He was always so strong.

Until tonight.

Suzaku was on his futon, tossing and turning, gasping, crying. Lelouch, who had been up reading, stared at him. He's never seen Suzaku have a nightmare before. He wasn't so sure what to do. So, he set his book down and got off the bed, moving to get beside Suzaku. He gently shook him. "Hey, Suzaku...whatever you're dreaming about, it isn't real...you're safe here..." he repeated the words Suzaku spoke to him so many times.

Suzaku's hand shot out, and punched Lelouch in the face. Lelouch yelped and fell back as Suzaku jerked upright, tears in his eyes.

"What the hell, Suzaku?" Lelouch groaned.

Suzaku looked at him and paled. "Shit! I'm sorry, I always end up hitting people when I'm dreaming," he looked guilty.

Lelouch got a close look at his face. "Hey...do you need to talk..? You look ready to cry."

"Lelouch, you wouldn't lie to me, right?"

"No, of course not."

"Then tell me, is it really you?"

"Huh?"

"I killed you!" Suzaku started to sob, "I ran up a pedestal where you were, and I stabbed you. I stabbed you all the way through and you collapsed and just died! I'm so sorry, please forgive me, Lelouch!"

"Hey, hey, I'm here, okay? You didn't kill me," Lelouch soothed, reaching over to grab Suzaku's hand, "I'm not going anywhere."

Suzaku stopped crying, but had the occasional sniffle here and there. Once he calmed down, he hugged Lelouch. "Don't ever leave my side," he whispered.

"I promise," Lelouch said just as quietly.

Suzaku pulled away, wiping his eyes. Lelouch regarded him before glancing at the clock. "It's late. We should get to bed. _Our_ bed," he smiled a little. Suzaku stared, wide eyed, before a soft look crossed his face. "Yeah."

The two clambered into Lelouch's bed- their bed, really. It was a silent agreement to sleep together from then on. No words were needed. Suzaku wrapped his arms around Lelouch's waist, and Lelouch snuggled up next to him. Suzaku was only half a head taller than Lelouch, but he still made for really good cuddling.

"Hey...Lelouch?"

"Hm?"

"I...love you. Goodnight."

Lelouch blinked, then looked up at Suzaku. A small smile crossed his face. He scooted up, and gave Suzaku's lips a chaste kiss. "I love you too. Goodnight."

A silent agreement, they didn't need to ask, nor confirm. They were boyfriends from that point on. They both just knew it, even as they drifted off.

And one day, Lelouch Lamperouge would become Lelouch Kururugi.

**Author's Note:**

> L.L? Me, referencing Lelouch of the Resurrection? More likely than you think.  
Riiipp this was my first Code Geass fanfic, so, comments are greatly appreciated.


End file.
